Are you converting your '86 Stumpjumper? I think for geometry considerations, there are many forums where conversions have been discussed (search "MTB drop bar conversion"), and you could also check out the geometry of bikes such as the 26" wheel Surly LHT:

I understand that getting the geometry right can be a challenge. I've spent a fair amount of time trying to get road and mountain components to work together, and it can be a challenge. I think the typical way people deal with MTB/drop bar component compatibility is to use bar end friction shifters, though there might be some other options now that allow STI shifting if you're willing to buy a new drivetrain.

Are you set on 26" wheels? If you're willing to consider new or "recent used," particularly 29er/700c, you might be pretty happy with some of the offerings from Salsa/Surly/Soma, or maybe Black Mountain Cycles in Marin (http://blackmountaincycles.blogspot.com/). Many other more mainstream manufacturers have put out steel 29ers over the past 10-12 years, as well, including Raleigh, Kona, Marin, GT, etc.

Yes. It's not much of a "mountain" bike, anyways, by modern standards, so I might as well have some fun with it and focus on uses around gravel and dirt roads. I would of course keep the current bar setup, so the conversion is entirely reversible without any fuss.

Sky is sending me some original WTB MTB dirt drop bars and Barcons. So what I need some guidance on is, I think:

- What kind of stem and dimensions (1" threaded)- What kind of levers (need to work with cantis

Yes. It's not much of a "mountain" bike, anyways, by modern standards, so I might as well have some fun with it and focus on uses around gravel and dirt roads. I would of course keep the current bar setup, so the conversion is entirely reversible without any fuss.

Sky is sending me some original WTB MTB dirt drop bars and Barcons. So what I need some guidance on is, I think:

- What kind of stem and dimensions (1" threaded)- What kind of levers (need to work with cantis

This is the sort of thing I am going for:

Levers for cantis are pretty easy. Any road lever should work. Just make sure you get the right yoke height/pad angle. Sometimes when you go from mountain brake levers to road brake levers you have to shift that around a bit to get the most mechanical advantage. If you want Vs, that is a different story.

For this kind of conversion, I usually go with a threaded to threadless stem adaptor. It makes it much easier to find the right stem length. If you want to keep a more classic look, you will need to do some careful thinking to get the right stem geometry, but if you can use threadless stems you can swap things out pretty easily. I happen to like the look of modern, threadless stems on beefier frames like mountain bikes, so I never have a problem with this, but I know some people like to keep their threaded stems looking threaded.

Either way, you probably want to bring the bars up and in compared to the mountain geometry. I always found that counter-intuitive, but it makes sense considering that drop bars intrinsically stretch you out more than flat bars. Nitto makes the MT-10, which I think was designed for this kind of thing. There must be others out there though.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond is partnering with carbon fiber manufacturing pioneer Connie Jackson and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to bring the most significant development in carbon fiber production in over 50 years to the global markets.

LeMond Composites, a new company offering solutions for high-volume, low-cost carbon fiber, has secured a licensing agreement with U.S. Department of Energy’s ORNL. The agreement will make the Oak Ridge-based LeMond Composites the first company to offer this new industry-disrupting carbon fiber to the transportation, renewable energy, and infrastructure markets.

A breakthrough process invented by Jackson and a research team at ORNL’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility (CFTF) will reduce production costs by more than 50% relative to the lowest cost Industrial grade carbon fiber. Incredibly this new carbon fiber has the mechanical properties of carbon fiber costing three times as much. Until now, manufacturing carbon fiber was an extremely energy-intensive process. This new method reduces energy consumed during production by up to 60%.

Product | COBIhttps://www.cobi.bike/product?_ga=1.90347804.767114061.1474074602COBI is helping to revolutionize the overall cycling experience by connecting your smartphone to your bike. This award-winning modular system brings out the best in any bike by providing it with intelligent assistance. The result is more safety, convenience and fun – no matter where your journey takes you.

gottobike:Product | COBIhttps://www.cobi.bike/product?_ga=1.90347804.767114061.1474074602COBI is helping to revolutionize the overall cycling experience by connecting your smartphone to your bike. This award-winning modular system brings out the best in any bike by providing it with intelligent assistance. The result is more safety, convenience and fun – no matter where your journey takes you.

Kind of cool, but no thanks. My smartphone resides deep inside a backpack, or in a jersey pocket zipped inside a thick ziplock bag. If my phone rode out on the handlebars it would be cracked and splintered within a matter of days or weeks.

Good point, Shady John. With many of today's more common smart phones, it does seem like the COBI would be geared more to an uptown style of flair weather riding. If durability of the smartphone is the limiting factor, maybe it's time for something a little more rugged?

These are not cheap; however, with the 6/6+ running 6-800 USD and then another ~200 USD to replace the flimsy touch screen every few months, one of these ruggedized phones may be a better choice, especially if it is using an internal waterproofing technology like HZO http://www.hzo.com and subscribes to ingress protection standards.

I've been using this case/mount combination for a couple of months now and really like it. Tested the waterproofing in one of the few rainstorms we had earlier in the year and dropped it once at about 5mph because I had taken it off the holder while riding.

Not sure if I would trust my iPhone 6s to it for real off-road action but fire roads etc. shouldn't be a problem.

batmick:Not sure if I would trust my iPhone 6s to it for real off-road action

Pretty sure I wouldn't trust myself not checking my phone every two minutes...

Good point. But I use mine as a cycle computer after my Garmin died, so I needed something to have it in front of me and weather-protected. So I am constantly checking it but, so far, I have been able to resist the temptation of email.

My Bacchetta Giro recumbent originally came with BB5 disc brakes. Long and fast descents glazed the pads and warped the rotors.

This was replaced with BB7's. The pads held up fine. The rotors appeared to be fine, but it was always a compromise between no-contact (rubbing) and braking effectiveness. Then last week some rider on a recumbent trike was pulling wheelies (riding on two wheels) just before the start of a ride, and managed to crash into my rear wheel.

Tried to find a replacement, ended up having to buy two new wheels AND new rotors, as these wheels were not 6-bolt ones.

The shop (Adams Ave) suggested better rotors (thicker) and that was that.

So, yesterday on a ride I decided to push in on one stretch and set a PR:

Thanks, Bill. Is there a shop locally that carries the Compass tires? I really just want to feel the tire to get an idea of the difference between the Paselas (Besides about $50) since they're both made by Panaracer.